There are a number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the UK which are concerned about healthcare and healthcare related issues. We support some of these organisations through the Pfizer UK Foundation, which provides financial support to groups which work to minimise health inequalities. We have also worked closely with three organisations concerned with issues arising from our ageing population: Help the Aged, Age Concern and The Alliance for Health and the Future.
There are a number of UK NGOs who are based in the UK but have a global mandate, and are concerned with a range of issues which relate to developing countries. These issues are of great concern to us and our colleagues in New York who coordinate much of our activity in developing countries. From a global perspective, we believe we can best support the health of people in developing countries in three ways: By developing new medicines for diseases which disproportionately affect developing countries, by making our medicines affordable and by directly supporting them in developing effective healthcare systems though capacity building programmes.
Think tanks
Pfizer has actively engaged with think tanks around the world for many years. In the UK we work with them to stimulate discussion and debate around healthcare provision in this country and to encourage new thinking to identify new solutions. Think tanks represent a range of different perspectives and are an important voice, but they need financial support. Pfizer provides this as we feel these organisations play a valuable role in stimulating debate about the future of public health services and other critical issues. We recognise that we must be open about why we are involved with these organisations and about what the mutual benefits are.